hello fascination
by vanity.x
Summary: AU Drabble!Series. Everything starts with awkward moments. Smile, sunshine. —NaruHina.
1. i want to start something new

Dedications go out to Sara, foremost, for helping me make hard decisions  
>and for always being there.<br>Secondly, goes Sonya, for supporting me.  
>And thirdly, to <em>her<em>.

hello fascination  
>— vanity.x<p>

This wasn't home.

The lack of skyscrapers, lack of everything that was Konoha told her that much.

This wasn't home.

Hinata parked her old truck — the engine roaring to a stop and the vibration stilling — in front of her new house and just sat there, curled into herself, silver eyes staring at the necklace around her rear-view mirror.

She figured she sat there for a whole decade before she finally sighed, again, and grabbed her bag, ignoring everything else on the trunk of the truck, and walking up the walkway to the small, pale-blue house.

The porch was plain — a porch-swing and a mat — and Hinata really wanted to fix it. A big, pretty, bright sunflower would look pretty right at the edge of the steps, she figured.

She rang the bell, wringing her hands together and looking around at the other houses that sheltered her new neighbors.

The door was opened just as Hinata turned to face it. On the other side stood her older (by one year, she swore) cousin in a pair of jeans and nothing more, hair disheveled.

Hinata sort of went beet-red.

"I— I... Am I early," she asked, voice low and soft.

Neji blinked his eyes and moved to the side, staring at the trunk of the ever familiar truck. "No, you're fine."

"Thank you for letting me stay here," Hinata whispered, stepping inside.

Her cousin grunted and made to go for the rest of her luggage.

Hinata bit at her lip and stood there, awkwardly, in the center of what could only be the combination of the living room, the foyer, and the front hall.

Seconds later, Neji walked in, carrying her bags and dumping them on the ground before closing the door.

He pointed to the left of the little hall that she knew led to the rooms and bathroom. "That's going to be your room." He paused for a second. "It has a floor window. If I open the door and there is a boy..."

Hinata grew red, again.

She changed her mind.

This was kind of like home.


	2. i want to smile under the sun

To Sara and Sonya.

hello fascination  
>— vanity.x<p>

"There's nothing to eat, here," Neji's deep and smooth voice resonated into her room.

Hinata looked up from folding her favorite yellow v-neck, bangs mixing with her long, thick lashes as she stared at the opened door. He was probably in the living room.

Otogakure had small houses; Hinata kind of found herself adoring this fact.

Too much room made her feel like drowning.

"It's okay," she said, willing her meek voice to rise an octave.

It was quiet for a second.

"There's a diner close by," Neji said, awkward,"would you like to get a bite?"

The corner of her lips twitched into a bashful smile as she set down her shirt on the column she'd made on her new bed ("I went and bought one yesterday," Neji had said, puffing his chest out) and grabbed her messenger bag. "I would like that."

Neji stood up, awkwardly, and gave a curt nod. He ran a hand through his hair, messing it up, as he walked back to his room in search for a shirt and shoes. Hinata patiently waited for him to come back, her eyes admiring the plainness of the living room; there was a cream colored leather couch pushed up against one of the grayish-white walls, straight across from it was an entertainment set with a flat screen, a gaming platform (Hinata was well informed that it was a PS3) and other trinkets and such.

In the middle was a coffee table with remote controls and magazines and newspaper. Nothing really hung off the walls.

"Alright," Neji murmured, grabbing his keys from the key-holder on the wall, "Let's go."

Hinata followed him, blindly.

Neji was sure to drive slowly, and Hinata was thankful for it as she admired the streets of Otogakure.

It was such a beautiful place, she decided. A small town; it had been what she needed.

She took a deep breath and reached a hand out through the window, catching the air and letting it weigh her down. There was a smile on her lips throughout the whole ride.


	3. i want to get to know the world

To Sara and Sonya.

hello fascination  
>— vanity.x<p>

While they sat and waited for their orders — turkey club with lemonade for Hinata; bacon burger and a glass of soda pop for Neji — it had been more than silent.

Hinata didn't really think there was a word, or definition, to how quiet it was between them.

She figured she would have dealt with it better, had it been awkward or tensive.

But this...

She didn't really think it had a name.

Biting at her lip and playing with her fingers under the table, she turned towards the window their booth was stationed in front of.

There were about five cars outside, in the parking lot, including Neji's '98 Honda.

It was getting close to supper time; the sun was setting, turning the bright blue into orange and pink and yellow and allowing a soft breeze to wander freely. Neji had muttered that, soon, people would start flowing in for their supper; takeout or not. Said it became a hassle, sometimes.

He hadn't spoken after that.

Hinata slowly lifted a tiny hand and set her overgrown choppy bangs aside, still staring out the window, forcefully.

"Oi, look. It's Neji."

Blinking, Hinata slowly, timidly, cautiously turned to look at the source of the husky disruption of the choking silence.

She found said source in the form of a girl wearing a white, tight-fitting t-shirt stained with a grease and ripped jeans tucked into worn out boots. Messy brown hair was held back in a single careless bun and a red bandana kept her bangs from falling over honey-brown eyes...

...That were staring right at her.

Hinata choked on air and looked down, fiddling with the hem of her shirt.

"Huh," the husky-voiced girl grunted, "got a visitor at your house, Hyuuga."

Hinata heard Neji clear his throat. "That's my cousin; she'll be living with me, from now on."

It was quiet.

"Well," the girl sighed, shoving Neji deeper into the booth and making room for herself. "Sounds awesome. Hi there, chick; I'm Tenten."

Wide eyed, Hinata looked up and stared at the girl. She was grinning, crookedly, eyebrow raised and shoving a thumb at herself.

"I— I..." Hinata took a deep breath. "Hello, I'm Hinata."

Tenten's grin widened. "I'm gonna like you," she said, ignoring as the waitress came and set down Neji and Hinata's orders.

Hinata could only blush.


	4. i want to make everything okay

To Selene.

hello fascination  
>— vanity.x<p>

"She's not my girlfriend."

Hinata stopped, mid mixing the batter, and looked up at Neji.

She had, off of a whim of hers, asked him if he would like to assist her in making a cake, much like they had done back at home, in Konoha. She had been more than surprised when he had walked into the kitchen, minutes after his silence, washed his hands and began to break eggs.

It had been quiet, the entire time, the few times they had asked each other to hand an ingredient or utensil didn't really count.

Hinata bit her lip and darted her eyes to the small kitchen-window, brow lightly furrowed.

"Um..."

Neji refused to look up.

"Tenten," he murmured. "She's not my girlfriend."

Her mind cleared up, now.

Tenten was the girl she had met at the diner; the girl that worked at a car-shop, she remembered Tenten mentioning in their conversation. She was one of the first to befriend - she wondered if she could even call it that - her cousin when he had first arrived to Otogakure. Neji had been sure to mention that he hadn't been able to get rid of her, since.

A smile stretched her lips.

"I'm sure she's not," she said, softly.

Neji looked up, then, staring at her through the shorter strands of his long, dark hair.

Hinata swallowed a squeak and looked down, continuing to mix the batter until it was nice and smooth.

"She's _not_," he hissed.

Hinata hadn't expected him to fling flour at her.

She looked up at him, mouth wide open and eyes just as wide in shock. "Did you just— "

He was smirking.

Hinata pulled out the mixer-thing (who cared about names, right now) and flung batter at him.

She giggled at his outraged look.

And somewhere in her mind, as she squealed and hid from what was being thrown at her, she decided that this — the relationship between her nii-san and her — was a start.


	5. i want to be less awkward

To The Best I've Ever Had.

hello fascination  
>— vanity.x<p>

When Hinata had woken up on a random Tuesday, a week after her big move to Otogakure, she had not expected to wind up at a car shop.

Her intentions had been to go to the grocery shop closest to her nii-san's house and do some shopping; stock up the fridge and the cupboards because they were _empty_. She honestly would never understand how her cousin lived on his own for over three years; he didn't really seem to take care of himself.

Anyway.

And then she had planned to read a book at the porch and wait til Neji arrived so she could get dinner started.

But never had it occurred to her that she would end up at a car shop.

As much as she loved her old, old, rusty, beat up truck, sometimes it tended to land her on the most horrible predicaments.

And she meant horrible in a bright, sunshine hair and sunshine smile kind of way.

Hinata's face was turning an awkward purple as one of the workers helped her unload the back of her truck, his smile so pretty and his eyes so bright.

"There we go!" He turned to her, grin intact, as he clapped his hands to rid them of any invisible dust. "Now, what did you say your name was, shorty?"

Hinata was positive she was an awful blue, now, rather than purple.

"That's Hinata, Naruto," someone called out, "she's Neji's cousin."

Tenten appeared, a second later, dressed in a similar navy-blue jumper as Naruto and the other boys Hinata'd seen earlier.

"Hey," Tenten said, smirking.

"H-h-hi," Hinata squeaked.

Tenten raised a brow before she jabbed a finger towards the boys. "Blond's Naruto. The fool with the purple eyes is Suigetsu, the moron next to him is Kiba and the douche next to _him_ is Sasuke."

Hinata managed to wave.

"So, what happened here?"

Hinata clasped her hands behind her, letting her bangs shelter her eyes as she scurried after Tenten. "I-I'm not sure... I'm usually capable of fixing it myself but..."

"Died, I see," Tenten turned to her grinning. "How about I get Naruto to drop you off at your place, with your bags, and the idiots and I can get to work on this?"

Hinata opened her mouth to speak, but Naruto was already dragging her away.


	6. i want to have many friends

To the need for food.

hello fascination  
>— vanity.x<p>

"So you're Neji's little cousin, huh."

Hinata was fidgeting with her fingers in the passenger's seat, teeth worrying at her lower lip and hair curtaining around her red, red face. She'd never been all that good at talking to boys... Let alone stranger boys. Stranger boys that were maybe-kinda-sorta friends with her cousin.

"S'bout time we learn something from that stiff-stick," he went on. His name was Naruto, Hinata mused, nervously, with herself. "He _barely_ talks, Hinata-chan! Is he always like that? I swear its almost kinda creepy. I'd say I was used to it, coz, you know, Sasuke-teme's kinda like that but he actually talks a lot, when you put attention. But Neji's just so _quiet_ it deflates my balls, man."

He called her 'Hinata-chan'.

This boy - Naruto - who she had never met in her life until today... called her 'Hinata-chan'.

And then she blinked.

And said something about... Oh... Oh...

Hinata went just a lot more redder at the implication of things.

"Anyway," Naruto said, grinning and running a hand through his sunshine-hair before dropping it to his side and out the rolled-down window, slapping at the door and making a beat. "Are you visiting?"

"U-uhh..." She looked around, silver eyes scanning the messy Mustang, "Not e-exactly..."

He brightened up.

"Oh, so you're living with him! Awesome! So does that mean I get to see you when we have Beer-and-Game night at his house?"

Hinata ducked her head low to keep him from seeing her blush. Was he clueless? She thought he was clueless... And adorable. Ohh, he was very adorable. But clueless. She swallowed, peeking up through her thick lashes and staring at Neji's house.

"Okay, then, Hinata-chan," Naruto said, double-parking in front of Neji's garage. He opened the door to his car and grabbed the bags from the backseats and taking them to the front porch.

Hinata curled into herself as she followed him up the walkway and to the porch; fiddling with the keys and looking for the right one, for the door. Neji had said it wasn't necessary to lock the doors in a small town like Oto; but Hinata was far too used to locking everything when no one was home.

She opened the door and watched, through her lashes and her bangs, as Naruto carried the bags to the kitchen and set them on the island before coming back out, shoving his hands in the pockets of his grease-and-oil stained skinny-jeans. He was smiling at her.

"I'll see you around, Hinata-chan," he said, slowly passing by her.

Hinata closed the door once he left and pressed her back against it, exhaling and hoping her heartbeat would slow down.


End file.
